K12 learning 2.0:  Tools for 21st Century Teaching & Learning

THING “Twenty-Three” (Session Ten)

Optional Task: Overall Course Experience . . .  (Thoughts posted in 2 slides using Voicethread)

There are definitely a multitude of tools that are available to us in education.  In this Web 2.0 course, I have enjoyed exploring many of the tools and some I stumbled upon along the way.  We are definitely living in a digial world.  Students are growing up in a digital world and that is they their primary way of learning new things.  If you try to instruct them in non-digital ways, it seems boring to them and they don’t seem to get as much from the instruction.

Some of the tools I especially liked were the Google Reader, Blog creation, Delicious Bookmarking and Pageflakes.  I enjoy collecting things in my reader from topics I am interested in reading.  It seems like everyone has a blog site these days with literally thousands out there to be viewed.  Mine is just another one in the sea of blogs.  By posting my thoughts in one place I can see value in others seeing this information in one place.  One item that is very nice is the ability for everyone to share their favorite bookmarks.  In addition, for no other reason, I can have my bookmarks available to me at any location or computer which is nice.  Pageflakes is probably the one tool I hadn’t heard about until this class.  I can see value in this tool by organizing it in a way to bring together feed, blogs, etc. into one place. 

K12 Learning 2.0: Tools for 21st Century Teaching & Learning THING “Twenty-Two” (Session Ten)  Task:  Reflections on NING Social Networks

Social networks are all over the internet. There are literally hundreds of these available to anyone. MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are just a few of the popular ones.  With so many from which to choose, it can be difficult to belong to multiple sites and keep them updated.  Other sites, such as Ning, allows a user to create a customized community environment for others to join them within the Ning network.

Steve Hargadon created a popular network with an “educational” emphasis on the Ning Network called Classroom 2.0.  Currently, it has over 20,000 members.  Of course, since he is a paid consultant, he may have a slight bias to the Ning site.  His involvement has definitely helped Ning in their support of innovative uses of Ning in education providing ad-free networks for grade 7-12.  One of his articles described a problem that many are having when trying to monitor multiple groups on the network.  If I join 10 different groups or more in order to receive the flow of information from them, then, how can I make sense of all this and still remain sane?  Well, here is a quote from Ning’s 7 Things You Should Know brochure:

1. “The ability to utilize a separate tab or page for each Ning network I want to track;”
2. “The ability to easily copy the tab or page layout of one to set up others, so I don’t have to start from scratch for each network;”
3. “The ability for others to see or copy the pages, making it a usable model of an easily-customizable solution for other Ning users.”

Please read his article, Creating a Ning Dashboard, for more information.  It is interesting that he tried to accomplish this on iGoogle and Netvibes and was not able to do so.  Unfortunately, all three pageflakes links are broken and not working for whatever reason.  So, it sounds like a nice idea.

For me, I can see value in setting up a customized network community within our schools.  The problem is that there are so may networks and one could feel overwhelmed very quickly trying to monitor more than one network group apart from using other Web 2.0 tools.  What if our school website was transformed into a Ning Community?  Of course, we could still have our website link as a separate component.

This is an interesting idea to me because it opens up the possibilities of students, teachers, community leaders, business leaders and parents of contributing and interacting with each other in ways not possible by viewing a content only website alone.  By having forum discussions, everyone can discuss ways of meeting needs around the school.  Teachers can let the community know about things they are doing in their classroom in blogs, in pictures and even in video.  Others can receive update notices through their feeds to be alerted of all new information.  Using a social network tool could literally bring to life a stale, content-only web presence.

 ***Correction: Steve *was* a consultant for Ning, but have not been since December 2008.  Thanks Steve.  I would like to invite everyone to visit Classroom 2.0 when you have the opportunity.

ARTICLE:  Pentagon Readies its Cyberwar Defences

Does the thought of Cyberwar scare you?  Cyber attacks could literally turn your life upside down.  This article caught my attention this week as I was browsing through the topics in my Google reader.  Cyber attacks are on the rise and becoming more sophisticated as we develop and improve technology.  In 2007, military computers in Germany and the United States were hacked into by foreign entities most likely looking for critical information knocking them temporarily offline.  How do you feel when your internet service is down for a few hours?  Do you get anxious?  As we become more dependent upon technology to run our lives, we are putting ourselves at risk for attack.

In this article, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon revealed “that cyber-weapons are to be added to the list of arms falling under the remit of the UN’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, which develops policy on weapons of mass destruction.”  Did you know that you have a weapon of mass destruction right in your home!  The potential is a staggering thought!

Shortly after I got connected to the internet in the late 90’s, I had installed some firewall software that detects intrusion attempts.  I was very surprised to see the number of attempts to access my computer from various parts of the world.  There are people that randomly try to see what computers respond to their “hacker” efforts and usually travel paths of least resistence to unprotected computers.

Identity thefts are increasing along with other types of information being illegally obtained from you and from me.  Often, it is being obtained from someone in another country or someone in an area outside our laws and jurisdiction.  So, what do we do?

I recently read about a group of sophisticated hackers that were for hire by foreign governments and operated on remote islands in international locations.  Their objectives were to break into government computers, obtain information and then sell it.  How safe do you think your personal information is that is stored online?

In order to deal with the international threat of cyber attacks, the Pentagon is developing a centre at which the military can play realistic electronic war games in an effort to sharpen their skills in development of defensive weapons against such attacks.  A spokesman from a security company states, “computer scientists do not yet know how to defend critical systems against attacks and we are largely blind and ignorant of how to protect ourselves against cyber-attacks.”  That is a scary scenario.

Power stations, water utilties, nuclear plants, chemical plants and communication facilities are all possible targets for attacks which could drastically disrupt our lives.  Technology in the East is being escalated by the fact that many of our U.S. companies are outsourcing chip making to these locations.  The worry is that someone will insert a hardware-based virus into the chips to collect data from unsuspecting users around the world.  Attacks could be launched by chips implanted within things such as refrigerators, televisions and cars.  This makes it much easier for the technology to fall into the hands of cyber terrorists and anyone that wishes to do harm to our systems.

Here is the irony of this article.  In order to protect ourselves, we must be proactive in creating a defensive, early warning network using technology in order to safeguard ourselves.  The article points out that senior military leaders have an attitude towards computers as being equivalent to toasters.  Many teachers view computers in a similar way and do not take advantage of a tool that could dramatically transform the learning experiences of their students.

Until our military leaders embrace technology and how it can be used in a greater capacity to protect us, we will be susceptible to cyber attacks from all over the world.  The threat of destabilizing our country without sending a troop across the border is a staggering thought.

Just like virus protectors on our computers warn us when a virus or spyware tries to invade our workspace, we need to focus on developing technologies to detect intrusions from all levels and protect our systems against attackers.

Visit Arlie’s Pageflakes Site.

Visit Arlie’s Netvibes Site.

I wanted to explore further this idea of “flakes.”  Pageflakes is an interesting site with some cool stuff to add to your pages.  As I was exploring, I found some other sites that look the same and offer similar things such as Netvibes, iGoogle and Webwag.

Netvibes uses “widgets” to add content.  iGoogle uses “gadgets” to add stuff.  Pageflakes uses “flakes” to add stuff.  Webwag uses “widgets” to add content.  I was able to add content on all of these sites but was unable to publish my pages on iGoogle and Webwag.  On Webwag, I know you can send this “stuff” to a mobile device but I am yet to find how to make it public so my friends or students can view it.  If you can figure out how Webwag can be viewed by guest web users, let me know.  At this point, I do not recommend using it in the classroom.

Webwag is a mobile service for your Phone and PC but I am still wondering if anyone else can see my web page other than myself.  I have several nice widgets on my page but wonder if I am missing the purpose in the service or overlooking something.  It would be nice to for others to view it as well.

iGoogle is integrated in my Google interface along with my email and google docs etc.  I created an iGoogle page full of interesting and fun gadgets but again wonder if I am the only one who will see them.  I am still searching for a link to pass along for others to view it as well.

Netvibes is definitely worth investigating.  It has many of the same features available in Pageflakes.  Take the Netvibes Tour to find out more.  Also, take a look at Protopage and MyYahoo.

Pageflakes are customizable as well.  The Anything Flake is very useful in creating a custom flake for your page.  As with Netvibes, pageflakes has a large selection of flakes already created from which to select.

Pageflakes and Netvibes are two aggregators that appear to work well for use in the classroom allowing teachers to create personalized pages containing pictures, videos, podcasts and all of their favorite widgets and gadgets. Teachers have at their fingertips another tool that will allow them to communicate with students and parents. Students can access homework assignments, check grades, see extra credit assignments, review study material as well as other helpful information. Tools such as Pageflakes and Netvibes can be used on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to assist the teacher in the execution of their lesson plans.

Schools can also use these tools to provide news and information to parents such as upcoming parent conferences, school events and other special functions like book fairs and after school activities.

Finally, here is a nice quote in an article from edtechservices,

“Easy Registration and Tab Sharing are two features that make Netvibes an especially atractive tool for the classroom. A teacher can create a tab filled with instructional content, links, pages, and collaborative spaces, while still allowing students to have their own netvibes page filled with all the “other content” they want. As an added benefit, if students have a block such as MySpace on their netvibes page and MySpace is blocked by the school, that block won’t show up – but the netvibes page will. It makes for a nice system where students can still get to some content, but not necessarily all.”

ADDITIONAL READING:

Netvibes in the Classroom – Module by Evelyn Jessie
Netvibes Blogs – This is their official blog site.
Netvibes Videos – Videos about Netvibes on vimeo.
Netvibes Widget Directory – Over 180,000 widgets available for your pages.
Netvibes Continues to Impress – Article.
Using Netvibes For RSS Aggregation – TeacherTube Video

K12 Learning 2.0:  Tools for 21st Century Teaching & Learning

THING “Twenty-One” (Session Nine) :

Task:  Reflections on my Pageflakes experiences . . .

Pageflakes are very interesting. Here is a brief tutorial.

What is Pageflakes?

Well, here is the link to my pageflakes web address: (Feel free to visit by clicking on the links.)
Arlie’s Main Pageflakes Site – Contains ALL Viewable Pages.



(This image is a snapshot of my Pageflakes Page containing Web 2.0 Class assignments.)

Pageflakes are great ways to visually see your favorite “stuff” as it is identified by the folk at pageflakes.  I think that is a term everyone can understand.  Teachers will love the grade tracker and built in writing tutor.  There are other “stuff” like to-do lists, message boards, calendars and dictionaries that teachers and students will find beneficial.  Students will love the fact that teachers can blog and create a discussion forum directly in their feed reader.  Pageflakes are visually appealing and appear to be very user friendly for students.

Teachers can use pageflakes to deliver daily assignments and links to specific websites that they want them to use regularly.  They can also place links to other tools such as class wikis and blogs.  Pageflakes can be used to keep track of student blogs, collect research and news that supports what is happening in the classroom.

This tool is free, increases student teacher interaction and is used by schools around the world.  It requires no programming skill and is fun to use.  Maybe that is one of the reason why it is called pageflakes for all those “flakey” people out there that need help using technology.  Even the “flakes” can make pageflakes! It helps organize different “stuff” into one interface. I have enjoyed exploring Pageflakes and look forward to finding new ways to implement this tool in my daily activities.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & BLOG ARTICLES:

BusinessWire – Pagecasting in the Classroom
The Unquiet Librarian – Pageflakes as a personal learning portal.
Tech Ticker – Shedding Some Light on Pageflakes & Pagecasting.
Social Computing – Using Pageflakes
Slideshare Slideshow – Learning with Pageflakes and Netvibes.
Learning Aloud – Pageflakes for Educators
The Tech-Savvy Teacher - Pageflakes
Mashable Article – Pageflakes Targets Educational Market
Shananigans – Attention Educators: Pageflakes
TeacherTube Video – Using Pageflakes
Teacher Pageflakes Site – Mrs. Green’s ELA Class
ZDNet – Resources for Pageflakes
Teacher Pageflakes Site – Laura’s Universal Design for Learning Resources

K12 learning 2.0:  Tools for 21st Century Teaching & Learning

THING “Twenty” (Session Nine)

Task: Exploring Google Docs…

My GoogleDocs Presentation – Slideshow Example.  Please feel free to add more slides and update presentation.  Student surveys reveal their favorite web hangouts.  The survey information could be collected from a GoogleDocs Form accessible by students.

Many users are familiar with the presentation programs associated with Microsoft Office and the popular Open Office Suites.  Even though the presentation component of GoogleDocs has less features and restricted in many ways than these applications, it is still a very nice way for students to collaborate on a slideshow presentation.

As a class project, each student could create one slide of their favorite food with a picture.  When the slideshow is complete, then the teacher could show the final presentation to the class.  Students could learn about the types of food that their classmates enjoy.  They could also have a class party at the end of the project bringing samples from the slideshow.

Here is a tool, I just discovered this week that would allow teachers and students to be very creative in their collaborative efforts, especially in real time.  It is called Dabbleboard.  As an alternative to GoogleDocs Presentation, students have some interesting features to utilize in this free tool. Guests can chat and edit documents without having to create accounts.  Documents and images can be inserted but not video which is possible in GoogleDocs Presentation.

“Dabbleboard is an online collaboration application that’s centered around the whiteboard. With a new type of drawing interface that’s actually easy and fun to use, Dabbleboard gets out of your way and just lets you draw. Finally the whiteboard enters the digital age!”  – Dabbleboard Main Page Description.  Here is the above slideshow from GoogleDocs presented in Dabbleboard.  Feel free to leave some grafitti on the slides!

Student Web Hangouts – Dabbleboard Version

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

K12 learning 2.0:  Tools for 21st Century Teaching & Learning

THING “Twenty” (Session Nine)

Task: Exploring Google Docs…

Google Docs can be used to create shareable documents, presentations, forms and spreadsheets. Here is an example of a spreadsheet that can be shared among users. I created a “sample” that tracks general teacher classroom expenses.  See Collaborative Spreadsheet and feel free to modify and add data.

Google Docs enable students to create spreadsheets without worrying about formatting differences between applications.  If a student creates a file in one program at home and goes to school only to find that their document is not compatible with a different application, this can be discouraging.  Accessing this tool online allows the student to work with the same file at home and at school.

Google Docs has several advantages for your personal finance budget or tracking a project where different people are sharing the costs (if you want to put that type of information out in space).   Following are just a few:

1. Access from anywhere via the internet.
2. Easy to learn & use – Google Docs is not nearly as complex as Excel.  Less features.
3. Free – Google Docs isn’t going to cost you “one red cent.”  Save money.

Google Spreadsheets teach students about data gathering and data organization, as well as for keeping student records, lesson plans, and organizing all types of data.  There are some “cons” to using this tool which includes the inability to create charts and graphs and to print directly from the program.  It is saved first and then can be printed out at a later time.  On the “pros” side of things, it has chat for those that want to discuss their spreadsheet modifications in real time.

Charting with Google Spreadsheets is excellent for students who want to team up with other students and do group analysis of data.

Here is another example of how this tool could be used in the classroom.  The teacher could have students create a personal music inventory.  Each student would acess the online spreadsheet and enter their tapes and cd’s along with type, artist, and rating.  The students could exchange music selections with fellow students.  This idea could be adapted to track other items such as books and magazines.

See Video: Google Docs – Spreadsheet Introduction

See Video: Google Docs – Spreadsheets Part 2

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
eHow – How to create spreadsheet using Google Docs.
ZDNET – 5 Secrets of Google Docs and Spreadsheets
msoffice tutorial training – Shortcut keys for Google Docs and Spreadsheets
Business.com – Guide to Using Google Docs and Spreadsheets
Google Art - Collaborative Spreadsheet Art

K12 learning 2.0:  Tools for 21st Century Teaching & Learning

THING “Twenty” (Session Nine)

Task: Exploring Google Docs…

Google Docs is another great tool for collaborating on various types of projects. I still remember one experience from an online class where we emailed our presentation file to other members in our class for editing and input. After it made its rounds, then, it was finalized by the group leader and submitted. If this is your common experience, then Google Docs is better than sliced bread.

Some users have given up offline “office suites” and do nearly all of their work through online sharing using tools like Google Docs. I am not ready to go that far because I feel their is still a need to keep some information strictly confidential and should not be placed in an arena where it may be compromised. Google Docs is a great tool and has many benefits.

In the classroom, students can collaborate on writing projects. Even with busy schedules, they can work together and access the material at their convenience. Complex projects are made easier. One great thing for students about Google Docs is that it supports writing academic papers. If you upload and download your documents, the formatting is a little different. Students could publish a weekly or monthly newsletter by inviting others to contribute. Group work is made easy and it it easy for new users to add content as well. Students can do book reports and upload them and have others to give reviews and feedback.

Teachers can utilize this tool as a way to improve communication with students in the form of useful writing assignments and feedback. By implementing this tool, a teacher may be able to have two or more classes interacting and contributing to a writing project. The students can benefit from the feedback and insights by students in other classes.

This is a great tool for teachers or staff writing “draft policies” which need be modified and updated. It’s nice to be able to save the document in PDF form. One of the best things about using Google Docs is that it is free and helps contributors beat deadlines or other difficult timelines.

My example of a Google Doc is a list of resource links for various Web 2.0 tools. It would be a time saving reference if much of this information is organized into one document. I was able to link an image but was not able to upload a image.

GOOGLE DOCS – WEB 2.0 RESOURCES & LINKS . . .   (Please feel free to add to it)

How To Use Google Docs – An Introduction

OTHER DOCUMENT SHARING SITES
Zoho – Free account has 1 Gigabyte of space.
Office Live Workspace – Feature by feature comparison to Google Docs.
Approver – Document Management, Collaboration and Alerting
Docverse - Sharing documents. (In private beta)
Docuter – Upload and share documents.
FlySuite – Collaborative Document Sharing Site.
iNetWord – Unparalleled formatting, collaborative, customizable.
Writeboard – Shareable, web-based documents.
 
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Google for Educators - Overview, presentation, tips and tricks.
C4LPT.Net - Using Google Docs to collaborate on an online document
Slide Video - Ways to Use Google Docs in the Classroom
Digital Inspiration - How to do “stuff” with Google Docs
Google Docs - Keyboard shortcuts while using Google Docs
Google Docs and Spreadsheets - Collaborating in the Classroom or Library
Google Docs Community Channel - Lots of Videos available.
Technology Evangelist - Using Google Presentations in the Real World
Directory of Learning Tools - Documents, Spreadsheet and Database Tools
Google Docs Comments - From those who selected Google Docs as their Top 10 2009 tool.

K12 learning 2.0:  Tools for 21st Century Teaching & Learning

THING “Nineteen” (Session Eight)

Task: Sharing YouTube & TeacherTube experiences …

YouTube has become a very popular Web 2.0 tool as a video sharing site.  Anyone that visits this site will immediately notice the huge variety of videos available.  During this discovery exercise, I found several videos of interest with a technical and educational emphasis as well as several focusing on music and fun.

In regard to my professional interests, I viewed a video about features in the upcoming version of windows.  This video discussed a Windows Seven feature about Window Management.  It clearly demonstrated how to resize and run 2 windows side by side.  This is a very convenient feature and the video shows the ease in which this can be done even for the novice user.

Windows Seven – Window Management: Resizing and running 2 windows side by side.

I also viewed another technical related video concerning Windows Seven.  This feature is new to Windows and a very welcome feature, especially, for those that give help and support to others.  This feature is called problem steps recorder.  This video demonstrates how the screens are captured into a recorded video which can be sent to a support person.  Sometimes users find it difficult to explain the error messages they are viewing.  This feature allows the support person to see exact messages and screens to better provide help and support.

Windows Seven – Problem Steps Recorder

Among the many types of videos available, there are many “how to” videos.  Everyone has scratched their cd’s or dvd’s at one time or another.  Here is a video showing how to repair scratched discs.

How To Remove Scratches From Any CD / DVD

Here is a video showing how to install Windows Vista in 2 minutes.  I have to classify this one in the fun category because you will get a nice chuckle when viewing this video.  When Vista was first released, this was a common attitude toward the product among many users.  Subsequently, service packs and updates have made it better and more stable for end users. 

Windows Vista Install in 2 Minutes

With the popularity of YouTube, TeacherTube was launched to help teachers share instructional videos and other materials having an educational focus.  With the millions of videos currently in YouTube, educators are happy to have a place focusing on educational content.  Here is a video example of creating classroom posters using excel with a standard printer.

Make Classroom Posters with Microsoft Excel

Another video I discovered demonstarted how to create a video without a camera using CamStudio.  This video link was also posted on YouTube.  Many of the TeacherTube videos are linked on YouTube as well.

Creating a Video Without a Camera

There is tremendous educational value in this resource.  I also viewed videos about why schools make students tuck in their shirts which was extremely informative and how to convert PDF files. TeacherTube Videos are sometimes integrated into lesson plans.  Content is monitored and flagged if inappropriate content is added.  Check out the School News article for details.  It aims to provide a safe way for learners to be able to share content.  Here is a very article describing the use of TeacherTube in the Classroom.  It helps teachers find lesson ideas and shows them how to implement them in their classrooms through video. Although YouTube is blocked in our schools, TeacherTube videos are usually accessible.

Additional Resource Links:

Using Teacher Tube in the Classroom

K12 learning 2.0:  Tools for 21st Century Teaching & Learning

THING “Eighteen” (Session Eight)

Discovery Exercise & Task: Create a “Bare Bones” Podcast . . . 

Create a podcast using BooMp3, Zamzar and Gcast. 

Well, first, I believe BooMp3 is closed.  I did look for an alternative website where you could record mp3 files but, alas, I found none worth mentioning.  I did find several free programs to download which can be used to record mp3 files. It seems to me that this is a good option and it worked best for me.  I downloaded a free software program called audacity for recording and editing sounds.  I also learned that if I wanted to save my recording directly to a mp3 using audacity then I could download a file called lame_enc.dll and place it in the audacity folder which would enable this feature.

I love using Audacity better than most of the other apps I previewed because it is free and easy to use.  By adding the lame_enc.dll file, it really makes it easy to save my recordings directly to MP3.  I also like the editing feature.  If I decide to modify my recording in some way, then I can do this nicely within the program.  If you have ever used a portable application, you will love the fact that Audacity comes in a portable version.  You can carry it with you on your flash stick along with your headphones.  Now, you can be ready to create files for your podcasts anywhere!  Audacity Portable Version.  

Zamzar is an interesting site.  Videos, documents, images and audio files can be converted here in a few easy steps.  Well, I did encounter several “internal processing errors” when trying to process my file conversion request.  Even though the 4 step process looked very easy, I personally found it unreliable at times.  Well, in fact, after about 4 tries one did eventually process to my email and I was able to retrieve it after a little persistence.  I would still recommend it.   

GCAST is a great place to send your MP3 to make it available for podcast. 

I also previewed mp3mymp3 and Direct MP3 Recorder.  Download and try these software applications.

The “dipping my toes” experience into the podcasting was a bit confusing at first, but, finding an easy way of recording and editing is essential.  By using audacity, I was able to combine steps and make the experience more pleasant and more efficient.

I can see using “podcasts” to share tips and helps regarding software used by students and teachers.  For example, each podcast could focus on a special feature of our email program to help introduce different components and their benefits.  As a result, teachers could more effectively use their email application.  In the classroom, teachers could create podcasts to help summarize material in the form of review before quizzes and tests.

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